Cowboys DE Taco Charlton on rookie season: 'I'm not the most patient guy either; I want the process to hurry up'

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Dallas Cowboys rookie defensive end Taco Charlton rolls through his moves before his first NFL game against the New York Giants game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, September 10, 2017. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News)

FRISCO - Cowboys defensive end Taco Charlton hasn't made much of an impact over the first four games of the season. That's made some fans vocal about wanting to see more out of Dallas' 2017 first-round draft pick. Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli also said he needs more production from the Michigan product.

Well, Charlton agrees.

"I'm not the most patient guy either, and I want the process to hurry up," Charlton said Friday ahead of Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers. "I know it takes time. I'm only a rookie four games in. I need to try to find my rhythm with less plays, that's the biggest thing I'm trying to work on. Getting in the game, four plays here, four plays there, but still try to get in a rhythm. Try to find a way to be productive to help this team out."

Charlton has played 101 snaps over the first four games, with three tackles, a tackle for loss and a quarterback pressure. The Cowboys wouldn't be eager to make him inactive for the first time Sunday, but with defensive lineman David Irving's return from a four-game suspension, it may come down to a numbers game.

"I try to still work in practice and show what I can do, try to fight for the reps," Charlton said. "I just try to keep my head down and work."

Charlton, a former basketball player, said he drew motivation from watching a documentary on NBA great Kobe Bryant.

"His rookie year he was going through struggles too," Charlton said, "but he continued to fight and you see what happened with him. We're only four games in, we have 12 more regular season games to play. I'll continue to try to be effective more and more and try to give this team the production they need out of me."

Charlton also said he has the support of his fellow defensive linemen, including DeMarcus Lawrence and Tyrone Crawford.

"A lot of the veterans tell me you're going to be fine, you're going to be all right, you're good," Charlton said. "Hearing that, you still want to do things. But it will come in time. I continue to work, and I'm not satisfied with how I'm playing."

On his radio show on KRLD-FM (105.3 The Fan) on Friday morning, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones discussed Charlton's progress.

"Tom Landry used to say don't pass judgment on a defensive lineman," Jones said. "At least give him the third year. Now, this day and time, they've got to come and hit the ground playing. And they use a lot of players today. The game is played at a different pace and you get tired pretty easy.

"Charlton with what we want to do right now, which is have a serious rotation in numbers both outside and inside, he can play both places. He's very long, we call him. Obviously he's tall, but his arms are long. So, he's got a natural gift that he uses well. He's extremely young, and I'm very excited about him and I think when he puts his technique and gets a feel for the way you have to play this game, the intensity you have to play, I think he's going to be a great player for us. I really do."